Commissioners in Grayville were forced to push their June 8th evening meeting due to not having a quorum. Instead, they gathered at 1pm on Monday, June 15th and it won’t be the last afternoon meeting it appears. Commissioners, minus Andi Ford who was absent, along with Mayor Travis Thompson passed a first reading of an ordinance which would place the first meeting of each quarter as a 1pm start time. Those would include July 13th and October 12th in 2026 along with January 11th and April 12th of 2027. Otherwise, meetings should continue at 7pm on the second and fourth Monday of each month. Commissioner Baldwin voted no with everyone else approving the measure’s first reading.
Also Monday afternoon, Grayville Police Chief Mason Siegel gave his department report which included 211 calls for service during May resulting in one arrest and a dozen investigations. The department also issued five citations and a written warning during the month.
Mayor Thompson says the pool is getting a lot of use and thanked City Treasurer Sharon Walden for her efforts saying if not for her, Grayville might not even have a pool.
22 days of operation so far, 2,204 people which is 894 more people than this same time last year. The pool is being heavily used. I know I’ve been up at the park the last two Sundays and it’s been extremely packed. It’s nice to see and a lot of that credit goes to Sharon for the effort she puts in there. If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t have all the lifeguards and probably wouldn’t even still have a pool so I appreciate Sharon’s efforts on that front.
Wording is in on the procedures for utility shut offs and language surrounding landowner responsibility versus tenant responsibility for utilities. The first reading was passed Monday and leaders wanted landowners and landlords to review that language and bring up any concerns or changes they felt needed addressed before the council reconvenes and passes the legislation. Commissioner Browning voted no. Grayville has about 60 landlords and just under 100 tenants/renters.
Grayville leaders also approved $13,500 in TIF funding for the owners of Bailes Pure Drop which recently moved from near the interstate to 120 North Street in downtown.
Also agreed to Monday afternoon were electric supply rates for the next year. After hearing from Rob Wielt with Priority Power (formerly Affordable Gas & Electric), the city agreed to a commercial rate of 8.883 cents per kilowatt hour, up slightly from the previous 12 month rate of 8.397 cents per kWh and up 7.288 kWh the 12 months prior to that. For streetlights, the city will pay 6.776 cents per kWh, up from 6.451 cents per kWh. Both of those 12 month terms will begin in July. Using a broker allows communities to build a de facto buying group allowing them to improve purchasing power.
Council adjourned at 1:30pm.